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Cradle: Wire Drawings by Walter Oltmann

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Aluminum wire drawings by South African artist Walter Oltmann focusing on human skulls of children and young adults based on photographs from the Raymond Dart Collection of human skeletons at Wits University. Oltmann layers and stitches together hand-woven "doily" segments to create the illusion of depth with a tonality usually associated with documentary black and white photographs. The semi-transparent and gauze-like quality of the weave evokes the fragility of life and the passage of time, as well as reflecting on the tragic loss of innocence since the skulls are those of children. The image of a child sleeping can also be seen as suggesting death since they are frequently seen on grave markers to evoke a sense of serenity and transition.